Politics

Mongo: 'The Two Faces of Detroit: One White, One Black'

August 29, 2014, 12:34 PM

 

Adolph Mongo is a local political commentator.

By Adolph Mongo

The two faces of Detroit. One white. One black.

One face has that confident look of a bright future. The other face seems far less assured, having been fed a steady diet of decay and blight. This is the Detroit that Mike Duggan inherited as mayor.

And after nearly nine months on the job, some think the mayor has turned a blind eye to the black face; the black face that put him into office.

One of his first acts as mayor was to force out -- some say fire --  George Jackson as president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC),  someone who was very able and aware of creating opportunities for black Detroit. Duggan replaced him with a less experienced young man from New Orleans. Though he's African American, he answers to people in the administration like Tom Lewand Sr., who has the real power over the DEGC.

The black face of Detroit, the face that elected Duggan, is waiting quietly, but impatiently, to see if the mayor will include them in the transformation of downtown, midtown and more importantly, the neighborhoods.

I’m all for anyone who wants to improve the quality of life in Detroit and recruit more residents downtown by offering housing incentives.

It may not be by design, but the reality is, the lion’s share of people getting these incentives from the big corporations in Detroit are young, white entry-level workers.

What about attracting more black faces? Duggan needs to figure out ways to get housing incentives into the hands of more blacks, perhaps by working with the big corporate guys who poured big money into his campaign coffers to help get him elected.

So far, it looks as if as if the corporations are blatantly attempting to put a white face on downtown, to create an exclusive area like the upper east side in Manhattan.

It’s not going to be so wonderful if a made-over downtown becomes an all white enclave and private playground for one group of folks.

What's going to happen when police see groups of black people walking the streets late at night? Are they going to assume these folks don't belong in hipster heaven? We already have clubs that exclude, or certainly discourage, black patrons from coming.

While it's great to have daily announcements of major projects, it is not so great to see only white faces at the head of these projects. Where are the black developers and contractors? Like it or not, Detroit is still predominantly African American.

The late Mayor Coleman Young made many financial sacrifices for the residents of this city that included massive layoffs of police and fire personnel and other city workers. His financial savvy prevented the city from going bankrupt.

But Young made sure the police and fire departments were integrated to reflect the racial make-up of this city. He opened the door for numerous black businesses and developers. Many of these black developers and contractors proved to the doubters that they were more than qualified and had the experience to handle major projects if provided the opportunity. 

Under George Jackson’s 12-year leadership at DEGC, he followed Young’s precedent by opening more doors for up and coming black developers. The Gateway Shopping Center on Eight Mile Road and the Woodward Garden Block in Midtown is the result of those doors being opened to African-Americans.

Duggan needs to follow Young’s and Jackson’s examples by creating more business opportunities for young African- American entrepreneurs.

And along those lines, symbolism also matters.
     
Was removing Young's portrait out of Cobo Center another way to dismiss the former Mayor’s many contributions to the city? We also hear of rumors of a proposal before Emergency Financial Manager to remove the Joe Louis fist. (Bill Nowling, spokesman for the Emergency Manager denies there's anything to that "whatsoever.")

Removal of structures, pictures and monuments of black Detroiters is a grave mistake, which reinforces the whitewashing of the city.

Diversity can be encouraged without trying to exclude black participation in the rebuilding of the city. There is room for everyone, but it seems that those people who have stayed in the city and braved the high crime rates, poor city services, and high insurance cost, deserve to be included in all aspects of redevelopment.

We all want Detroit to thrive. But black residents and black owned companies must be included in the rebuilding, and not just be an after thought.
 



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